Wiliam Alexander
Cite this Page
"Wiliam Alexander," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/225.
- Position
- Stables
- Years in President's House
- circa 1832
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Andrew Jackson
- Biography
- William Alexander was a horse trainer from Virginia. In 1832, Andrew Jackson’s nephew, Andrew Donelson began employing Alexander for $25.00 per month to train horses at Jackson’s plantation, The Hermitage. He first appears in Jackson’s bank book for March and April of 1832. In this document he is listed as a “yallow man” indicating that he may have been mixed race. (1)
In April 1832, William Alexander was mentioned in a letter from the Hermitage’s overseer Graves. W. Steele to President Andrew Jackson. The letter describes plans to send Alexander from The Hermitage to Washington to bring racing colts to the president. Alexander traveled east along with three enslaved boys, Byron, Jame, and Jessey. In October 1832, President Jackson wrote to his adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr.: “I will endeavour to send Jame out by William & keep Byron until you & Sarah arrive and returns–They boys are all in good health.” (2) Alexander likely returned to Tennessee at this point.
Further information about Alexander’s life remains unknown. - (1) The White House Workers History Project relies on the U.S. Census Bureau’s updated guidelines for collecting demographic data related to race and ethnicity published in 2024. Adhering to these categories, this project identifies this person as Black or African American; however, there is documentation or other evidence suggesting that they were multiracial or mixed race. It is important to recognize that historical terms such as “mulatto” and “colored” are problematic, as these reflect the document writer’s views and the historical period more than the individual’s preferences or identity. “Bank Book for March and April,” The Papers of Andrew Jackson Edited by Daniel Feller, Thomas Coens, and Laura-Eve Moss, Vol X, 1832, 218, https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=utk_jackson.
(2) “Andrew Jackson to Andrew Jackson, Jr., October 21, 1832,” The Papers of Andrew Jackson Edited by Daniel Feller, Thomas Coens, and Laura-Eve Moss, Vol X, 1832, 536, https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=utk_jackson - Birthplace
- Unclear from Context